REVIEW: Jay Z and Beyoncé at Great American Ballpark

The first family of Hip
Hop/R&B — and perhaps music in general — graced Cincinnati with their
presence Saturday for Jay Z and Beyoncé’s On The Run tour. Downtown’s Great American
Ballpark was Jay and Bey’s second stop on their first joint stadium tour, aptly
abbreviated OTR (cue the wave of #thisisotr hashtags). The BeyHive was out in full force, along with whatever maniacal Jay Z fans call themselves.

After a stormy afternoon,
skies cleared in time for the concert, which began around 9:30 p.m. (an
hour-and-a-half past the show time listed on tickets, but no surprise to regular
concertgoers or fans in-the-know). The couple kicked off the set with “03 Bonnie
and Clyde,” their first collaboration, recorded more than a decade ago. Next up
were two more duets, “Upgrade U” and “Crazy in Love,” followed by two hours of
tag-teaming many of their hits.

People were blown away by the
reported 42 songs performed at the inaugural OTR stop in Miami last Wednesday, and the
couple delivered in Cincinnati (peep the full set list here),
though every song was condensed and often mashed up with or bled into another tune.

The duo performed
individually and together, creating a musical tapestry of their iconic hits (“Single Ladies,” “99 Problems,” “Diva,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”), classics (“Hard
Knock Life,” “Big Pimpin’,” “Baby Boy”) and newer work (“Tom Ford,” “Pretty
Hurts,” “No Church in the Wild,” “Yoncé”). Snippets of their short film/tour
preview for On The Run, which featured a ridiculously long list of celebrity
cameos, played throughout the show. Other high-production videos dazzled on the
two big screens, ensuring everyone from the nosebleeds to the VIPs had a decent view.

For "Holy Grail," originally performed by Jay Z and Justin Timberlake (who toured together last year), Bey took on JT's lyrics, performing a powerful collaboration that left me asking, "Justin who?" "Izzo" was accompanied by a slideshow of celebrity mugshots, which culminated with Justin Bieber's — timed perfectly with the lyrics, "So poof! Vamoose, son of a bitch."

“Partition” was a sexy
surprise: Jay came out to a center stage in the crowd, sat in a simple
chair and rapped over the simple but catchy beat.

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Then Bey and her thonged
backup dancers took the main stage, complete with poles, performing the
infectious, erotic hit. So basically, we all watched Beyoncé dance for her
husband, and we’re all better people because of it. Bey tore the house down as
she recreated the video, moving behind a screen to dance/seductively mount her now-signature weirdly shaped chair thing. A very similar performance was screened at the BET Awards Sunday night.

Jay and Bey closed the show
with “Part II ( On the Run)," “Young Forever” and “Halo,” walking through a
crowd of fans to the center stage at one point. They kissed, which temporarily
stopped the hearts of all in attendance, even if it was perhaps slightly awkward and possibly
staged. A video medley of home footage played during the last two songs,
featuring clips of the couple’s early years, engagement (where a romantic trip
to the Crazy Horse strip club would later inspire Bey’s “Partition” video), secret
wedding, daughter Blue Ivy’s birth and more recent shots of the family. Again,
perhaps a bit overkill to non-diehard fans — “See, we’re really happy!!!” —
but in the moment, it felt like the thousands of us in the park were sharing a
special moment with the artists. And isn’t that what makes a successful
concert?

Regardless of whether the
tour is a big relationship-reaffirming publicity stunt, the show was a wholly
entertaining spectacle. Both Jay Z and Beyoncé performed hard, making full use of the two stages, interacting with the
audience and consistently changing ensembles. Another plus for fans: the duo
really seemed to be having fun, which always keeps energy levels up. Jay was
sure to throw in Cincinnati references in some of his songs — a small gesture
that goes a long way for fans at shows. And Beyoncé teased us all during “Why
Don’t You Love Me,” in which the singer plays up a crazy, needy girlfriend
persona. She belted out the titular lyrics, then paused, playfully pouting, waiting for a loud enough roar
from the audience before she’d continue. We roared.

The crowd at GABP was one of
the most diverse I’ve ever seen at a concert in town, with visitors traveling
from around the country to witness the power couple at work. Some came to dance
to the Pop diva’s hits; for others, it was all about Hov’s famous rhymes; and
many were eager for the rare opportunity to see two powerhouses collaborate —
the audience represented a full spectrum of fans, eager to dance, drink and
sing together.